Alphabet Soup
by Araedia
Summary: Lily/James drabbles, with prompts from each letter of the alphabet! W: It's the wedding of the century. Meanwhile, James barfs, Lily's heels hurt and Sirius falls in love with the ring.
1. Arrogant

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p><em>A – arrogant<em>

She had always thought that it would give her the greatest pleasure in life if she never had to see that arrogant smirk of his again.

"_Why can't you just leave me alone for even a second?" she screamed. "I've tolerated you for long enough, why don't you get the hint? You'd be doing us both a favour if you just go away, you selfish, arrogant __**pig**__!"_

_The sound of flesh hitting flesh resonated through the room. His hand automatically moved to his red cheek, where the marks of her fingers could clearly be seen. He stepped back, the expression in his eyes one of deep hurt._

_As if a switch had been thrown, his face suddenly became cold, stony... an expression she had never seen on him._

"_Fine." He walked away._

She hasn't seen that infamous smirk since then.

Now as she looks at him out of the corner of her eyes and sees him bent over homework, frowning in concentration, she can't help but think that this doesn't really suit him. It doesn't belong on his face, not the way that smirk does.

She had always thought that it would give her the greatest pleasure to slap the smirk off his face.

It didn't.

_Arrogant little pig._

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><p><strong>I've got about seven more written out, so updates will be fairly fast, at least until I run out of them. <strong>**This is the first time I've tried writing drabbles, so please review and tell me what you think of them!**


	2. Bite

_B – bite_

_What the –_

She blinked. True, it was midnight, but she really didn't think that she could dream up that guilty expression on James Potter's face or the black bushy _tail _that just disappeared under a cloak that said guilty person threw over it.

"_What _are you doing, Potter?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Uhh... taking a midnight stroll?"

"There was a tail there!" She felt slightly stupid saying that as James raised his eyebrows, looking at her as if _she _was the crazy one.

"Tail? Now, Lily-flower... why would there be a tail here? I'm sure you're just sleepy, so why don't you-"

"Accio tail!"

And now she was holding a _huge_ black dog, which made the legendary Grim look like a puppy, by the tail.

She screamed. The dog jumped on her, and she could feel it's hot, smelly breath on her neck as the impact knocked them both onto the ground.

It was then that she heard his unsuccessful attempts at muffling his laughter. "Lily," he began. She gave him a furious stare, which, instead of making him shrink into a gooey mess (the usual effect), just made him laugh harder.

"Excuse me if I'm not amused – your giant dog is just pinning me to the ground." she said, sarcasm dripping off her every word.

"Pads, go back to the dorm." The dog gave a reluctant whine and trotted off, giving Lily one loving, _wet_ lick.

She got up, dusting herself off. "Where in hell did you get a dog, Potter? And what were you doing, sneaking out with a dog under an Invisibility Cloak?"

"It's a long story... anyway, you really didn't need to scream quite that loud, he doesn't bite." He moved a little closer. "But me, on the other hand..."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be a pick-up line?"

"Umm... maybe?"

**Thanks to everyone who favorited or alerted this, but please review too! Trust me, I'll love you a lot, **_**lot**_** more. Pretty please?**


	3. Catch

**Thanks to Chloe Sanders, The B00KW0RM, Mieux-Mystery-Otaku, chadders and MissingMommy for your reviews!**

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><p><em>C – catch<em>

She looked at the broomstick in her hands and turned pleadingly towards him. "James, really... I can't do this. I'll fall and have to spend the rest of my life in St. Mungo's."

He laughed, a warm rich sound. Walking over to her, he cupped her face in his hands. "Trust me," he said softly. "You won't. Not while I'm around." He touched his lips lightly to her forehead. "I'll always catch you, no matter where you are."

It was a promise.

"Now go." He steered her in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. "I want our children to have brilliant Quidditch genes, and I don't want you to spoil their chances!"

"Hey!" She gave him a kick, offended.

Tossing her hair, she climbed on the broomstick, appearing nonchalant. "You need to kick off the gr-" he began. "I know, I know!"

She lashed out a little too hard, but hey, at least she managed to get the broomstick off the ground. It rose slowly into the air, buffeted along by a light breeze. _I could almost like this thing. Maybe._

He called out from the ground, "Try to move it left and right! Just bend towards the – LILY!"

_Or not._

"I'm okay!" she called back, her face pale. "I probably just bent a little too – AAHH!"

The broom hightailed through the air, jerking violently. She was thrown off, but managed to grab hold of the broom by one hand. _Okay, relax. I'm just suspended in mid-air, probably going to be thrown off and meet my early demise – ARRGH!_

"Try to get back onto the broom!"

"I'm not a bloody gymnast!"

At that moment, the broomstick bucked again, this time breaking her fragile hold on it. She fell through the air, eyes tightly shut, hair streaming, her mind silently screaming _You're a witch! Do something!_

_I'm going to be a flattened pancake on the ground any second. What a pathetic way to go. I wonder if anyone's going to miss me?... James?_

A second passed. And another. And a few more.

Suddenly, she felt a warm pair of arms envelop her. She opened her eyes slowly, only to be greeted by a familiar smile.

"Told you I'd catch you... always." He whispered into her hair.

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><p><strong>These drabbles won't be in chronological order. I might write one where they are in their sixth year, then move on to after they are married, and back to seventh year.<strong>

**Please review! **


	4. Dare

**Thanks to Chloe Sanders, Mieux-Mystery-Otaku, Loslote and MissingMommy for your reviews!**

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><p><em>D – dare<em>

He wasn't exactly sure how he ended up like this.

Currently, he was engaged in half-carrying, half-dragging a very, very drunk Lily Evans back to Hogwarts through one of the Marauder's secret passages.

It was _supposed_ to be an enjoyable evening sneaking into Hogsmeade with the rest of the Marauders. He didn't expect Lily Evans and her friends to also be at the Three Broomsticks, sipping at their jugs of Firewhisky.

What he _really_ didn't expect was Lily to accept Sirius' dare _and_ drink him under the table.

_Honestly, what _is _she made of? _No one _has ever beaten Sirius at this before._

He made another attempt at carrying her. Unfortunately for him, Lily Evans was not only very stubborn, she was also a lot stronger than she appeared. Her flailing hands hit him square on the nose. "OW!" he yelped, clutching his bloody nose.

"Tol' ya not to carry m..." she slurred, struggling to open her eyes. "I ca' walk on m' own." She took a few steps forward unsteadily.

He sighed as he watched her wobbly walk. _I wonder if I'll get out of this with my nose intact. _He strode forward and scooped her up, bridal-style, deftly avoiding her thrashing arms.

She seemed to give up after a while, burrowing closer towards him. "James? I'm drunk, righ'?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

She considered this for a while. Then she started giggling. "You're carrying me like my dad used to! But you know," she snuggled closer up to him. "You're a lot more..." she trailed off.

"A lot more...?" He stopped, looking at her curiously. She murmured something unintelligible. "...cute..."

He raised an eyebrow, a smirk on his lips. "You think I'm cute? Come on, Evans, out with it." He started walking again, his eyes firmly trained on her face.

"You smell good," she finally said, matter-of-factly. "And I'm really, really drunk because I don't think I would have told you that, or that I really, really like you, otherwise."

She cuddled up to him, and dozed off, cosily cloistered in his arms.

James, on the other hand, was fervently blessing Sirius, dares and Firewhisky.

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><p><strong>I won't update for a couple of days because I'll be on holiday (yay for Easter hols!). Please review! That might give me motivation to throw off my holiday-induced lethargy and update sooner... *wink wink nudge nudge*<strong>


	5. Echo

**Thanks to BlueSkies13, Loslote, Little Emily, TheBeginningsEnd and Anonymous for your reviews!**

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><p><em>E – echo<em>

They stand, eyes locked in a passionate gaze, he searching the depths of those magnificent green eyes, and she his hazel pools; they are impervious to the soft snowflakes drifting in from the windows of the owlery. The feathers and flakes twist in the soft wind in an intricate dance that only they know.

_I love you._

His eyes widen. _Could it be? _Her lips _had _moved, but he can't help but think that the walls are only echoing what he is thinking.

Her mouth moves again, her lips carefully enunciating every word.

_I love you, James Potter._

And this time he knows. Yes, it is an echo of his heart, but it comes from her lips – and that's really all that he wants to or needs to know.

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><p><strong>*dodges rotten tomatoes* Sorry, don't kill me! I know what you're thinking, I turn up after so many days with such a pathetically short chapter and that's absolutely unacceptable... I PROMISE I'll have the new, longer chapter up tomorrow!<strong>

**Just review... please?**


	6. Facet

**Thanks to Tomiko Lou, EchoDeltaNine, TheBeginningsEnd, BlueSkies13, Loslote and P.A. Faraway for your reviews!**

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><p><em>F – facet<em>

She fiddled with the ring on her finger – _on her left ring finger – _her mind helpfully supplied. She could still barely believe that last evening, _James Potter_ asked her to marry him. To _marry _him!

The evening had been such a whirlwind of events and emotions that she hadn't even got a good look at it.

She fixed her stare on it. On the surface, it looked simple, but the more she looked, the more she saw in it. The ring itself was made of white gold, with two tiny dragon heads holding the main jewel – a diamond solitaire – in place, their eyes made of tiny emeralds – _exactly the shade of my eyes_. The rest of the ring was carved in the shape of the dragons' bodies, joining at the bottom. She took it off. Carved into the inside were two words – 'Semper Tuus' – _Forever Yours._

It was beautiful.

_It's amazing how much meaning a small thing like this can hold._

She put it back on, and stretched her hand out to admire the play of light on it. With a beam of sunlight striking it, it looked as if she was holding a star in her hands. _The entry and reflection of light increases its beauty a hundredfold. So many facets... just like James._

For their first few years in Hogwarts, she had thought him stupid, arrogant and just a pain. His attention-seeking pranks, immature quips and constant badgering for a date just annoyed her further.

Seventh year, on the other hand, showed her a whole new side of James that she had _never_ thought could even exist – he grew up, and started acting mature and responsible. Of course, there were the occasional slips, but instead of irritating her, strangely enough, it _endeared_ him to her.

James Potter was a walking bundle of contradictions. He could be insensitive but was astonishingly caring at other times, he was careless about so many things but fiercely protective of her, he was a procrastinator, he was hard working. She could count on him to handle anything responsibly, but there were so many times when he displayed a childish streak, which only drew her to him further.

_It's just like this diamond – there are so many sides to him. And just like it, if they weren't present, he wouldn't be half the beautiful person he is._

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><p><strong>This is ironic, but I got the maximum reviews for the shortest chapter I wrote... and they weren't tomato-chucking flames either.<strong>

**Anyway, thanks and keep it up!**


	7. Gentleman

**Thanks to BlueSkies13, Briedgee, ladystalke, TheBeginningsEnd, Loslote and P.A. Faraway for your reviews!**

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><p><em>G – gentleman<em>

"No, for the last time, we CAN'T have almée performing in Hogwarts for Halloween!"

James folded his hands across his chest. "Why not? Half the population of Hogwarts wants it. And I'm Head Boy, right? So my opinion counts as well!"

"Only the testosterone-fuelled, stupid half! And it's not half, I bet many of the guys won't want it either!"

"Guys like?"

Lily looked around and pointed. "There! Ethan!" she called out to the lanky brown-haired boy walking past them. "Do you want to have Egyptian belly dancers performing for Christmas?"

"They're probably girls, so... nah."

"Hey, not fair! Ethan doesn't count, he's gay!" James protested. Lily smirked. "Exactly my point. I'll have both the female _and_ homosexual population on my side! So yeah, majority wins!"

James tried the placating approach. "All I'm saying is, let's just run this by Dumbledore and see what he says!"

"Why don't you just drop the idea? You would, if you were anything of a gentleman, like err... like..." she wavered, furrowing her eyebrows in thought. "Like Sir Nicholas!" she ended, suddenly seeing the pearly-white figure of the Gryffindor ghost floating towards them.

"You're saying a _ghost _is more of a gentleman than I am?" he asked incredulously.

She didn't know what prompted her to it, but she screamed back, "Yes! Maybe I just want you to be more sensitive to the fact that I don't want you staring at those girls all evening!"

_Oops. _Blood ran into her cheeks, nearly turning them into the colour of her hair. "We'll... uh, we'll talk about this later." She turned away, embarrassed and mentally screaming obscenities at herself. She was nearly at the end of the corridor when she felt a firm grip on her shoulders and warm breath tickled at her neck. A shiver ran down her back.

"So, Lily... you're jealous, huh?" She could practically _feel _the smirk on his lips.

"N-no, of course not! Why should I?" she said, cursing the stammer.

He moved his hands down her arms, slowly, sensuously, his chin resting on her right shoulder. She could feel every callous on his Quidditch-hardened hands through the thin cotton sleeve of her shirt. Goosebumps rose up on the trails his fingertips left on her arms, and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from saying something inappropriate.

"You know what, Lily?" he whispered, his hot breath caressing the side of neck and ear. She shook her head, unable to form any words. "Screw being a gentleman. They don't get to have any fun anyway. Do you see Sir Nicholas doing _this_?"

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><p><strong>I'll leave the rest up to your imagination.<strong>

**Be nice and review!**


	8. Haiku

_H – haiku_

"Lily-kins!" His exuberant voice filled the whole Common Room.

Lily sighed. _So much for getting my homework done in peace._ "What?"

He stood in front of her, almost bouncing in excitement. Clearing his throat, James struck a pose which he thought was dramatic and highly poetic, but well, he just looked like a little kid with the toy he's wanted for ages. _Not that I'm going to tell him that, of course. _A faint smile lifted her lips as she looked at her boyfriend. "Well?"

"World is vast and wide  
>So much out there to explore<br>Right now, let's eat lunch"

"..."

"..."

"What?" he asked defensively. He looked around at the roomful of gaping people. "Hey, it's a Japanese form of poetry! A haiku!"

Lily was one of the first to recover, mostly because she was _so _used to James' crazy antics, she wouldn't be surprised if he came into the Great Hall dancing the tango with a pineapple on his head. Which actually happened back in fifth year.

"Oh... that's nice... I suppose."

"Nice?" James grinned. "I'm AWESOME! I combined an invitation for a walk _and_ to lunch in seventeen syllables! So, Lily-kins," he stretched out his hand, "World is va-AAAH!" BAM!

Lily picked up the thick Ancient Runes textbook she had just thrown at James from beside her groaning boyfriend on the floor, muttering something suspiciously like "Honestly, the things I put up with..."

She walked over to the portrait hole, and then turned back. "Coming for lunch?" She opened the hole and disappeared.

"Mate, I don't think that really impressed her, you know," Sirius remarked.

"Yeah, it was probably the appalling quality of the poem, you know," Remus chipped in.

James rubbed the sore bump on his head. "Trust me, one of these days I _will_ get it right.

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><p><em>A few weeks later...<em>

"Lily-kins!"

"What is it _this _time?"

"I've got a haiku that _really _sums up the passion in our relationship!

Dating for months sweet  
>Passion consumes us always<br>Must change sheets often"

BAM! BAM! BAM! "'Stop EMBARRASSING me, you idiot!"

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><p><strong>TEN reviews! Thanks to Lotta, lunerflower, Lenners, Loslote, historygeek413, EchoDeltaNine, TheBeginningsEnd, Mieux-Mystery-Otaku, Briedgee and BlueSkies13 for your reviews!<strong>

**It'll take me a couple of days to get the next chapter up; I'm pretty much bogged down by projects for school. So be nice and review in my absence, okay?**


	9. Icing

_I – icing_

"Okay..." Lily squinted at the book sitting on the counter next to her. "Right, I think it's time for the icing now... just hand me the bowl, will you?"

She turned around, only to see James whipping his hand out of the bowl with a distinctly guilty expression on his face. "Uh... the bowl... right, here you go."

She narrowed her eyes. "James..."

"Uh, yeah?"

"You haven't been eating the icing again, have you?"

"Umm... no?" Seeing the furious expression on her face, he tried to frantically tried to think up yet _another _excuse that would justify his finishing up yet _another_ bowl of icing. "I just _had_ to try it out! I mean, it's for Harry's first birthday... imagine if it was really bitter or salty or something! He'd be scarred for life!"

Lily couldn't suppress a small smile at that. "You might be interested to know, not everyone gets as easily 'scarred for life' as you do, James." She walked over to where he was standing and picked up the nearly empty bowl. "Shame, I guess poor Harry will just have to do with a cake from a bakery. And here I was _so _hoping to make him a lovely cake the Muggle way..."

"Don't worry, we'll – HEY!" Faster than he could see, she upended the bowl, smacked it down onto his head and lithely skipped out of the way. "Serves you right!" she called out in a sing-song voice.

"Oh no, you don't." He finally managed to get it off his head. "Come back here!"

Lily gave a loud laugh at seeing him, his normally messy black hair flattened and sticking to his scalp with the brown icing, and his round glasses also specked with the chocolate.

"You do realize," she mockingly called out from behind the safety of the counter "your pride – your beautiful, luscious, thick, messy locks of hair are stuck to your head looking like you just slicked them back with oil?"

James' face filled with an almost comical look of despair. Then, giving a huge war cry, "For the always untidy Potter hair!" he leapt right over the counter, grabbing a tin of flour in the process. And then emptied it all over Lily.

"Oh. My. GOD!" Lily spluttered, outraged as the white powder entered her mouth and nose and she began sneezing wildly.

"HA! This is WAR!" James yelled, letting out a huge laugh.

Lily groped around the counter, picking up the first thing that touched her fingers and threw it straight at James. And watched in satisfaction as the egg broke into pieces, the yellow yolk mixing with the icing on his hair, and small pieces of the shell clinging onto his face, effectively silencing his laugh.

It was then that they heard a thin high voice from the door. "Mum!" They turned around to see an almost one-year old Harry surveying the mess in the kitchen. Slowly, a smile broke out on his face, and it soon turned into a loud gurgling laugh. He walked a few slow steps into the kitchen before being scooped up into Lily's arms.

She smirked. "See? Even Harry knows who to support in a food fight."

James shook his head mournfully. "It's a conspiracy... how _could_ you betray me, Harry?" he said, addressing the still-laughing infant in his wife's arms.

"Well, at least we know whose brains he's got."

"HEY!"

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><p><strong>A huge thank you to lunerflower, KraftySimmer, Ollie, ladystalke, Almost Genius, Kikii, Yoohoo, Loslote, Lenners, TheBeginingsEnd, Tomiko Lou, Briedgee, Lotta, FluffyWhite, BlueSkies13 and Akira for reviewing! You guys really are spoiling me!<strong>

**Sorry for the late update; I had a really crappy week which included spilling concentrated acid on my hand in Chem lab...**

**Please review!**


	10. Junction

**18/05/11: Just to clarify; I introduced the idea of the two trains, empty and full, based on something Nearly Headless Nick said to Harry at the end of OoTP - that Sirius wasn't the type of person to continue hanging around in this world, he would always move on ahead no matter what. And I thought that James and Lily would be the same - the type of people who go off the beaten track.**

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><p><em>Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-<em>

_I took the one less traveled by_

- Robert Frost

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><p><em>J – junction<em>

The green light arching towards him was the last thing that he remembered.

So when James Potter opened his eyes and found himself in a place that looked suspiciously like a railway junction in Muggle London, he was more than a little surprised. After all, people generally expected the afterlife to be a little more... white?

There were a surprising number of people there. Some with entire families, from septuagenarians to children not more than a few days old. Seeing them reminded him of his own family – his own one-year old, his... Lily.

There was something that he couldn't remember. Something important that he was missing.

_I don't regret dying, _he thought as he walked aimlessly along the railway line, his hands in his pockets, kicking a stone along. _I just hope that I bought enough time for Lily to Apparate Harry away from Godric's Hollow._

He kicked at the stone with a little more force than was necessary. Thinking of Lily and Harry aroused emotions in him that he wasn't sure he could handle right then. He couldn't imagine living without them – never seeing Harry play Quidditch or getting his acceptance letter into Hogwarts. Never growing old with Lily. Never seeing his son at more than a year old.

He made a small choking sound. _Well, _he thought, shaking his head as if it would make the small painful lump at the back of his throat go away, _there's nothing I can do now. But how did Voldemort get to..._

His blood ran cold, and he stopped abruptly as the thought finally hit him.

"_Wormtail..._" His mind frantically tried to come up other explanations, but there was only one that made any sense. _He sold us out. Peter betrayed us. He gave away our location to Voldemort!_

"No!" He lashed out blindly, his hand connecting again and again with a lamp post. He imagined each hit landing on Peter's pudgy face, until it was completely unrecognizable as a human face anymore.

He sank down to the ground, ignoring his throbbing, broken and bloody hand. _How could you, Peter?_ He felt like throwing up.

He remembered how pale, how tired Peter had looked for the last few months. They had all thought that it was the strenuous fighting, day in and day out, finally catching up to the least talented Marauder. Now he realized the real reason why.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but when he finally stood up again, head pounding and his eyes slightly tinged in red, the sky still looked the same as before. Nothing changed, not the position of the sun in the sky, not the tracks... there wasn't even a breeze in the sky.

He heard the whistle of the trains before he saw them.

They drew up on the two sides of the platform that he was standing on. Most of the people got up on the one to his right, he noticed. And the other... there were barely three passengers boarding that train.

He made a decision.

He turned to his left, and walked straight over to the nearest door on the train. Just as he swung himself up onto the stairs, he heard his name being called. "James!"

He turned, to meet green, almond-shaped eyes that he never thought he would see again.

"Lily...?" he asked, disbelievingly. A small smile stretched her lips, even though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Where were you going, without me?" she asked in turn. "Give me a hand up, will you?"

He pulled her up, still slightly incredulous. "What about -"

"Harry -" they both began at the same time.

She closed her eyes, as if that would make the pain go away. "He'll be fine." she finally said.

He put his arms around her, holding her suffocatingly close, but she didn't push him away. "He'll be fine." he echoed.

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><p><strong>Thanks to MissingMommy, Little Emily, AscendFlySoar, Almost Genius, Loslote, Lenners, berkeley929, Sophia 123, BlueSkies 13, EchoDeltaNine, Bridget and Anonymous for your reviews!<strong>

**To Anonymous: Yeah, I realize that some of these are a little cliché, but you have to admit – clichés are there because they work! Thanks for your reviews anyway!**

**Sorry this took me so long, I intended to use a different prompt but it became too long, and I've posted it as a separate one-shot. Go check out "Nothing Personal" (and review!)**


	11. Kitchen

_K – kitchen_

_Rumble. _Lily turned over in her bed. _Rumble. _Turn. Creak. _Rumble._

_No, no... think about something else. _She began reciting the twelve uses of dragon blood to herself. _Rumble._

She gave up. _This is what happens when you try to go on a diet. _Never _again. _She sat up, throwing the bed covers off. "Lumos." she whispered, and held out the wand, searching her trunk in the thin wandlight. Pulling out her cloak, she fastened it around her neck and stood up to leave the dormitory.

The Common Room was empty. She crossed it in a few long strides, and stood before the portrait hole, hesitating. _I could still turn back. _The loud noises from her stomach convinced her otherwise.

She put out one hand, and jerking the door open, stepped out quickly before she could change her mind again. "Who's there?" She heard the familiar shrill voice of the Fat Lady.

"Head business." she mumbled, hoping to keep her quiet. She quickened her steps. The last thing she heard as she turned the corner was a huff and a low mutter "Head business, my..."

She had almost reached the staircase leading to the Hufflepuff dormitories when she heard a clatter and footsteps approaching her. Her heart beating faster, she veered off towards her left and ran up the first flight of stairs that she saw. _Please let him or her not come this way, _she prayed.

"Shit!" she cursed in a low voice, as her slipper-clad foot missed a step. She looked down, already panicking. Her foot had gone straight through the step, meaning that this was the infamous trick staircase. And the fact that she was going to be stuck here until someone came and pulled her out.

The steps were almost around the corner now. _Please let it not be Filch or McGonagall. Please let it be Slughorn... or even Dumbledore. _She heard a meow, and then a voice, "This way, my sweet..." Her heart sank. _Filch._

Just then she heard yet _another_ disembodied voice, this time from the top of the stairs. "_Lily?"_

"Yes!" she hissed, narrowing her eyes in the direction of the voice. Nothing. _I could have sworn it was Po-_

She felt the warm cloak envelop her, and suddenly, she was standing pressed up next to James Potter under a silvery cloak. "What-" she began, a bit too loudly.

"Shhh... he can't see us, but that doesn't mean he can't hear us." James whispered, clamping a hand over her mouth. She breathed in, and almost immediately regretted it. _Why do some blokes smell so good?... _She held her breath after that.

Filch passed the stairs with a cursory glance upwards, turning the corner and heading off in a completely different direction. James released her when the last of his footsteps died away.

Throwing the cloak off, he stood on the stair above her and looked down at her, a smirk on his face. "Well, well... so even our esteemed Head Girl goes a-wandering in the corridors after hours," he said, in an annoying sing-song voice.

"Potter, just help me up, will you?" She shot him a glare.

"Oh, maybe I should report you... I _am _Head Boy after all..."

"Potter, don't you dare!" she shouted as loudly as possible without awakening the whole castle. He gave her a small wave, a cheeky grin on his face as he slowly walked up the stairs again. "I – I'll go on a date with you to Hogsmeade!" she blurted out before she could think about what she was saying.

"Really?" He bounded back, his grin widening. "Allow me to assist you, my lady."

When she was finally out, he asked her, "So where were you going at this time of the night anyway?"

"Kitchens." she bit out, still furious about the fact that she had actually agreed to a date with him.

"Let's go then!" And he dragged her away before she could even think up a good reason to say no.

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><p>Later that night, when they both walked towards the Gryffindor tower under the cloak, Lily ventured, "That could be considered a date, you know. So maybe-"<p>

"No." He cut her off.

"Why not? It had candles, and food, and it was even midnight!" she argued.

"You promised a date in _Hogsmeade." _he said, with a smirk.

"Darn."

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><p><strong>Thanks to Anonymous, Smack, Loslote, Rayne, Almost Genius, MissingMommy, Akira, Bridget, Mystical Pen, Little Emily and WillowRose360 for your reviews!<strong>

**Shameless advertising: I've written a Remus-centric oneshot called Left Behind. It's feeling a little lonely... and I'd like to know your opinion on it... so maybe... review?**


	12. Lazy

**Credit to berkeley929 for the idea!**

_L – lazy_

"Gregory Dawlish and Aria Matthews!" The Transfiguration teacher's crisp voice rang out in the silence of the classroom. Lily waited anxiously, biting her lip. Her name was next on the list. _Please let it be anyone but – _

"Lily Evans and James Potter!"

– _him._

"Oh Merlin, _no." _she groaned, her head slumping down to rest on her desk. "I'll have to spend the _entire_ weekend chasing him around now!" Alice gave a sympathetic smile from beside her. "You never know. Even you've been saying that he's changed a lot in seventh year." she offered.

"Not that much," Lily muttered. "He's still the laziest arse I've even seen."

* * *

><p>"All right, Potter." She slammed her books down onto his desk. "We've got paired up for this presentation <em>again<em> – Merlin knows why all the teachers keep doing this – but anyway, I don't want a T, so you'd better work with me on this!"

James grinned up at her, shaking his messy bangs out of his eyes. "Anything you say, Lily."

She stopped for a moment, disconcerted by the nagging sensation she felt to reach out and push those silky locks off his face. _What in the name of Merlin's underpants are you thinking, Lily Evans? You cannot go around thinking about touching a guy's hair – James Potter's hair!_

It was probably the smile, she decided. The thousand-watt smile that looked genuinely happy to have her for a partner, no matter what she said about him, or how she insulted him.

"A-anyway," she continued. "So I'll dig up everything I can find on Animagi from the library, and then we can sort it out, and then you can do the presentation because I really hate speaking in front of the class -"

"Lily."

She knew she was rambling, but somehow, she just _couldn't_ make herself stop. "- and I think you can do it much better, but I'll stand with you and charm the board to show what you're talki-"

"Lily." He was standing up now. She looked into his laughing hazel eyes. "We'll do it together, all right?" She nodded, unwilling to open her mouth again. He gave her a pat on her shoulder, and walked out of the classroom.

_Maybe I really won't have to hunt him down this time._

* * *

><p><em>Won't have to hunt the laziest arse in the history of Hogwarts down? Think again.<em>

She banged the doors of yet another empty classroom shut, and stomped down yet another staircase. "It took me the whole of Friday evening and Saturday morning to scour the library for information on Animagi, and all he has to do is _look_ through it! And the bloody idiot can't even manage that!" she fumed, throwing open another door.

"Saturday evening – 'maybe tomorrow, Lily?' Fine, tomorrow! Sunday morning – 'Remus is looking a bit peaky, what about in the evening?' Evening – he's gone, and I can't find him _anywhere_!"

She paused at a window. _Is that the sound of a dog barking near the Forest? _She peered through the glass. _Nothing._

It was a beautiful full moon night though.

* * *

><p>The next day, she didn't see him right up till Transfiguration. She was slightly taken aback at how beat-up he looked – right from the cut above his right eye, the various bruises and the way he favoured his left leg. That still didn't stop her from screaming profanities – from "You pile of dog dung!" to various unprintables – at him for a good ten minutes until Professor McGonagall came in, after which she stuffed her notes into his hand and prayed for the best.<p>

Needless to say, she was a little surprised when he stood up and delivered the best presentation of the class – and with more details than even she knew about – and they both received Os.

After the class was over, she stood before his desk (after a lot of nudging from Alice), and gave a grudging "Sorry for shouting at you."

"That's okay."

He gave her a tired smile, and she noticed the purplish circles under his eyes. _He looks like he could really use a good sleep. _"So... how do you know so much about Animagi anyway?"

He shrugged, and began to walk away. On an impulse, she asked, "Did you stay up all night yesterday?"

"Yeah." was his answer.

_Guess he really _is_ changing... even I can't call him a lazy arse any more._

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to MissingMommy, Almost Genius, berkeley929, Briedgee, Loslote, Little Emily, Akira, ATrueGryffindor and Lenners for your reviews!<strong>

**I'm hoping to reach 100 reviews this chapter... *wink wink nudge nudge***


	13. Mortal

_The gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful _because_ we're doomed._

- Achilles, _Troy (movie)_

_M – mortal_

The thin stream of light arched towards her, beautiful in its grace, lighting up the entire dark street in an ephemeral green glow. It was beautiful in the way a predator is, making the final leap towards its prey.

And she knew – She was the prey. This was the end.

She had always been brought to expect that at her last moments, she'd see the whole of her past flashing by her. But all she saw was a messy-haired, handsome face staring back at her, his hazel eyes twinkling with suppressed merriment. And all she could think of was _The last time I saw him, this morning, I told him that I hated him._

_I should have told him that I loved him._

Everything seemed clearer. She could see the blue eyes of the Death Eater from whose wand the spell emerged, even though they were shadowed under his hood. She could feel the roughness of the bricks of the wall at her back through the layers of her clothing. She could hear the whistle of the wind overhead. Every little thing that had always been there – everything that she had always taken for granted – everything seemed so much more _beautiful._

She never felt more vulnerable or mortal than she did then.

It was the waiting that was the worst. Waiting for the light to strike her down, waiting for the moment where she would finally cease to exist, when she would become yet another statistic – dead in the war against the Dark Lord.

Would he hear her, if her thoughts were strong enough? _I love you. I'm sorry._

It was almost there. One millimetre away from piercing through her heart.

_I wish I had my wand. I wanted to go out fighting, feeling its familiar touch._

It was then that she was practically thrown off her feet, a warm, solid body forcing hers away from its former position. Her eyes met hazel, and then the world went black.

* * *

><p>"<em>Ennervate."<em>

She let out a soft breath, her mind groggy. Her entire body hurt. _Is it supposed to hurt, when you're dead? _There was the gash on her arm, the twisted ankle, the bruises on her back – all vying for her attention. And then there was the insistent voice that seemed to come from a great distance...

"Lily, wake up!"

"Lily!"

"LILY!"

She opened her eyes. He was kneeling beside her, his worried face inches away from hers. His eyes – why were they glistening? This had to be a dream.

"James...?" she finally croaked. Her mouth was dry. "Why are you – here?"

His lips split into a smile – not quite reaching his eyes, but a smile nonetheless. "You're okay!" A drop of water hit her cheek, and rolled down the curve to rest near her lips. She wanted to reach out her hand and touch his face, touch his warm skin, wipe away the tears that slipped out despite him. "I was so scared, Lily! I thought I was going to lose you! I thought I was too late – when I saw you standing there, and the Avada Keda-"

"James." She'd never really appreciated the beauty of those dark messy locks of hair. She'd never really _seen_ those tiny slivers of gold, lost in the hazel of his eyes. She had seen the beauty in that strong jaw, the sculpted features, but her first brush with death had shown her how fleeting it was.

"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time. Their faces broke into small smiles.

"I'm sorry I was such a prat." he said, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry-" her voice softened "- for saying that I hate you."

He bent down until she could feel his breath on her lips. "I love you." And she pulled his head down to close the distance between them.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to nine-orcids, YuuVerrani, Loslote, Anonymous, Almost Genius, Little Emily, berkeley929, (nameless) and moto-moto for your reviews!<strong>

**I haven't really written anything like this before, so I'd appreciate your view... please review!**


	14. Nursing

**Credit to berkeley929 for inspiration!**

_N – nursing_

"All right," James said, dropping Lily onto a pile of pillows on their couch. "You are going to stay _right here. _Absolutely_ no _moving around. Do you understand me?"

His eyes bored into hers, challenging her to defy him. And, true to his expectations, she tried a mild protest, "James... the Healers didn't exactly confine me to bed rest, you know. I can _walk _at least."

"Aha!" James grinned. "And that is exactly where you're wrong." He drew out a piece of parchment from his pocket. "_Bed rest highly recommended. Patient is to move about as little as possible. Signed, Healer Barrett, St. Mungo's Hospital._ And here's their insignia, if you're still not convinced."

She made a grab for it, giving up with a small groan after she overextended herself and pulled a still-healing muscle. "Wh-where – ow – the hell – did that come from? I never saw that before."

The smile dimmed a little. "Err..."

"You forced the Healer to write that," Her tone grew more dangerous. "_Didn't_ you?"

"I – um, I'm going to check the pillows in our bedroom. You know, make sure they're comfortable enough..." And he was gone.

She let out a long-suffering sigh. _It's going to be a long couple of weeks..._

* * *

><p><em>Clang! <em>A muted curse. _Bang! _The sound of a door being slammed shut.

Lily lifted herself up on one arm, reaching for the wand beside her. From what she could make out from the noises, James was probably down in _her_ kitchen, breaking _her _dishes and basically _murdering_ the orderliness and cleanliness she'd finally managed to perfect after _months_ in this house.

Before she could make up her mind whether to levitate herself downstairs or not, James was already at the door, carrying – of all things – a tray with a whole lot of distinctly unappetising-smelling dishes arranged on it.

"What are doing out of bed?"

"What have you been doing to my kitchen?"

"I cooked you dinner," he said, setting the tray down beside the bed. He glanced up, his eyes sparkling mischievously. "And don't worry, I've _Reparo_'d your kitchen."

_Reparo... should have repaired most of what he broke... maybe. _"Really? You cooked me dinner?" _That was sweet of him. Hope it's something good. _She smiled at him.

"So _that_ is grated carrot and cabbage sandwich..." She could feel her smile dimming. "And that's baked potato and broccoli mash..." Dimmer. "That's gourd soup..."

"James?" she said, her teeth clenched. "Where did you get these recipes from?"

He looked at her innocently. "The Healer, of course." Then, foreseeing murderous flying projectiles coming his way, he said, "They're the healthiest she could come up with! Guaranteed to get you up in a week!"

Lily, who had seriously been considering poking her wand into his eyes, turned towards him on hearing the last part. "Wait... one week?"

James nodded.

She looked back at the tray and gulped, steeling herself for the ordeal before her.

"You just wait, James. I'll get you back _some _day."

* * *

><p><em>A few months later...<em>

Lily smirked at the sight of James lying helpless in bed, scowling up at her. "Congratulations on running into those Death Eaters and almost getting yourself killed," she said, walking up to his side. "And as a reward, you get to eat... let's see – grated carrot and cabbage sandwich, gourd soup, baked potato and broccoli mash during your convalescence period... and your other options are – you can starve."

"Lily..." he growled.

She batted her eyelashes at him. "But these _are_ the healthiest, aren't they, love?"

* * *

><p><strong>100 reviews! Thanks to Souhait, (nameless), Little Emily, WITAY, Almost Genius, Loslote, BlueSkies 13, Lenners, berkeley929, lunerflower, Anonymous and YuuVerrani for reviewing!<strong>

**Yeah, I know that this is probably one of my worst chapters... but my birthday is coming up soon, and I won't be writing for a couple of days, so I thought I'd post this anyway. Please review... *cough* birthday present *cough cough***


	15. Oxtail

_O – oxtail_

"Go, Potter!"

"Sirius, you can do it!"

The two dark haired men stood opposite to each other amidst the cheering and general ruckus of The Leaky Cauldron after an Order victory, each holding out a bottle of Odgen's Old Firewhisky challengingly.

"What do you say Prongs, ready to give up?" Sirius taunted, a smirk on his handsome face, a slight slurring the only thing which gave away his level of intoxication. He pushed away his long dark hair from his face, eyes still fixed on his best friend and currently, rival's face, James Potter.

He retaliated with a dangerous grin of his own. "After only, what... eight bottles, is it, Tom?" he drawled, addressing the bartender. "Nine, Mr. Potter."

"Nine bottles... and you want this to end already? Never knew you were such a lightweight, Padfoot." Saying so, he put the mouth of the bottle to his lips, and tipped it over. Sirius immediately followed suit.

Another two bottles were brought out. James' hands shook as he grasped the neck of the bottle, and Sirius looked distinctly queasy.

The crowd watched breathlessly as the two swallowed gulp after gulp of the searing liquid. James staggered slightly after emptying his bottle, the white knuckles of the hand holding on to the table to balance himself giving away his unsteadiness. But Sirius stopped after draining about a quarter of his bottle, and then, slowly, painfully made his way to half-way. Another gulp. A tiny bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. Another soon joined it, as he stared at the bottle before him.

"Fine. You win."

Before James could let out a celebratory cry, Sirius lurched forward... and threw up spectacularly all over him and the people closest to him.

* * *

><p>"So much for a good celebration on the last night before the Fidelus Charm is placed on us," James groused as he inspected his shirt for any vomit his <em>Scourgify <em>might have missed. "Instead, you throw up all over me."

"Winner's reward!" Sirius said, laughing.

"Oh, shut u-" James' face rapidly paled, his eyes widening at something behind Sirius. Sirius whipped around, only to see a smoky, silvery form of a doe floating down towards them. A Patronus.

_Lily's_ Patronus.

The entire bar had fallen silent, fear etched on the faces of every member of the Order, who knew the significance of this. A Patronus was only used to convey the most urgent messages.

Her voice came from the doe, at first loud and angry, "_James_ _BLOODY_ _Potter_, if you are _quite_ done drinking and making a _complete_ fool of yourself with Sirius, would you please get your arse over here this instant!" Then it mellowed down until it seemed as if she was on the very verge of tears. "I – I can't stay another moment without oxtail soup," louder again, "So you'd better get some with you, even you have to get a bloody OX and CUT its tail _off_!"

The silence stretched on for a few more seconds before the entire population of The Leaky Cauldron broke out laughing as one. Sirius got onto his feet, dragging a red-faced James along with him. "Well, I'll just get this whipped, hen-pecked husband back to his wife," he announced, his infamous smirk back. "_With _oxtail soup."

* * *

><p>When they finally turned up at Godric's Hollow at two in the morning, with a huge amount of oxtail soup acquired at wandpoint, with a fair share of blackmail and threatening of a septuagenarian chef at thrown in, they were greeted at the door by an extremely emotional, extremely pregnant Lily, who threw herself at James, nearly knocking him off his feet.<p>

"Oh James, I'm so sorry, I wasn't _thinking_ when I sent the Patronus! You must be so _angry _with me for worrying you like that!" Her brilliant green eyes filled with tears. "You must be so tired of me, making unreasonable demands all the time and being so irritable with you! I really, really try, but I can't seem to stop myself and I look so ugly now and –"

"Shh..." James put a finger on her quivering lips, effectively silencing her. "I'll never get tired of you or stop loving you, not even if you throw me out of the house, scream at me, or become a wrinkly old lady of a hundred. Now let's get you inside so you can have some nice oxtail soup, all right?"

Lily nodded, sniffing. James walked inside with her, throwing one last look at the so-far completely neglected Sirius. "_Women."_

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for all the birthday wishes, I had an amazing time! Special thanks to Souhait, Married-To-Punk, Little Emily, BookWorm77071, berkeley929, ATrueGryffindor, LovelyRita14, EchoDeltaNine, Anonymous, Loslote, BlueSkies13, Almost Genius, Kikii, Lenners, P.A. Faraway, lunerflower and three broomsticks for reviewing!<strong>

**I've got a new one-shot out - 'Jealousy'. Check it out if you like Sirius-angst.**


	16. Peeves

_P – Peeves_

"Hey, Evaaans!" A loud voice rang out through the Great Hall. Lily turned around, her long red plait whipping through the air, fully expecting to be faced with her 'friendly' stalker and the 'Most Annoying Git in the World', James Potter, because hey, it was _Valentine's Day._

There was nothing.

She looked up, and immediately got a faceful of hot pink confetti.

"POTTER, you bloody –" she began, when she saw Hogwarts' resident poltergeist Peeves, a small mischievous-looking man dressed in _very_ colourful clothing hanging upside-down over her head.

"Potter's all a-potty for you,

All he wants is to say 'I LOVE YOU!" the spirit recited in a sing-song voice, an annoying smirk stretching his already wide face.

"Damn, Potter must be really desperate if he's sending _Peeves_ as a Valentine's Day Cupid!" Damien, one of the fifth-year Gryffindors exclaimed.

Lily turned towards him slowly, her eyes narrowed. He promptly returned to eating his eggs with gusto.

"Alice, do you mind if I use our spell we were working on for the Charms project?" she asked her brown haired friend, who was sitting across the table. She shook her head. "Go ahead – this should be fun."

She pointed her wand at a piece of gum that had been stuck to the side of the table, and forcefully enunciated, "Waddiwasi!"

It shot up into the air, and straight into Peeves' nose.

Letting everyone know their spell was _so_ worth it, if only for the _look_ on Peeves face. Not to mention the rest of the population of the Great Hall.

Peeves was the first to react. He shot out through the doors, moaning loudly and incomprehensively. Then, there was one ear-splitting whistle from Sirius, an "All hail the Amazing Evans!" and the entire Hall seemed to explode with sound.

Lily returned to her breakfast as if nothing had happened, a tiny smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Lily shut <em>An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms, <em>preparing to wrap her work in the library for the day. She stood up, returning various books to their shelves with a non-verbal _Wingardium Leviosa, _when she suddenly heard a voice right behind her. "Hey, Lily!"

She jumped, almost dropping the books. "Potter." She turned around, looking up at him. "If you're looking for a date, my answer's no."

She must have imagined the slight trace of hurt that swept across his face, because he was _Potter._ What could she ever say that would sting him?

"Actually, no," he said carefully. "I didn't really come to ask you for a date. Though if you're that eager..." The sides of his mouth lifted in a half-smirk.

There, he was back to normal. "No, Potter. What do you want?"

He shrugged. "That's a pretty good charm that you've created... you know, the one you used on Peeves? Was that meant to be your and Alice's Charms project?"

"Uh, thanks." she said, slightly unsure.

"Care to discuss the etymology?"

"Why?" she asked, looking at him suspiciously.

James sighed, suddenly looking a lot more tired than she had ever seen him. His lean frame slumped onto the bookshelves behind him. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles. "Lily... I'm just... trying to have a civil conversation with you for once. Without me flirting with you, or asking you out. Without you shouting at me. Maybe, for once, you should just, you know, see me as something or _someone_ worth your time. Because I'm trying, Lily – I..."

He turned away. "You know what, just... forget it." He started walking away, his steps slower than usual, leaden.

She didn't know what made her say it. "It's the normal Expulsion Charm, Potter!" she called after him, walking after him. He had stopped, staring at her with widened eyes. "I just removed the Latin verb and replaced it with the French _vas y_ – you know, meaning go there?"

She was standing right in front of him. His hazel eyes were on her, taking in her every feature, a slight disbelief in them. She suddenly felt very self-conscious.

"It's...pretty simple, really." She shrugged. "I read about how charms with foreign roots are stronger... and now, I guess the spell can be used on bigger objects."

They were walking out of the library now. It was an unusual sight – James Potter and Lily Evans having a polite conversation.

"Yeah... I guess."

"What about yours?"

It was funny, really, how their first civil conversation since _third year_ came about because of Peeves.

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah, I guess I gave Lily all the credit for the spell... I don't know a word of French – all the stuff about the spell is from harrypotterwikia.<strong>

**Thanks to BookWorm77071, WobblyJelly, Souhait, Married-To-Punk, Little Emily, berkeley929, Meghla, kitty-whiskers, Loslote, Lenners and BlueSkies 13 for reviewing!**

**Keep the reviews coming!**


	17. Quirks

**Prepare to be amazed! GASP... actual 100-word drabbles? Inspired by berkeley929.**

* * *

><p><em>Q – quirks<em>

_You know it's love when you finish each other's sentences, and don't understand why people think it's weird._

"Pads, we need help." James said, walking over with Lily.

"We need to break the Repelling Charms on a door –"

"– by hand, if required –"

"– considering the wood itself is so ancient –"

"– termite-ridden –"

"– brittle –"

"– after which Lily uses her version of the Banishing Jinx –"

"– while James holds off the Pixies –"

"– and you provide the Shield Charm –"

"– and behold! –"

"– we have our snogging space!"

"Retiring area sounds more elegant, James."

Sirius merely looked bemusedly at Remus. "Do you suppose they practise talking like this?"

* * *

><p><em>When you know exactly which day of the week she likes to eat cucumber sandwich for breakfast.<em>

She stood as still as a statue at the edge of the lake, the ice-cold water lapping at her feet, the chilling winds blowing her red hair all over her face. _How could you... Sev?_

"That git's not worth freezing yourself for," a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Go away."

"I got you breakfast."

She held out a hand, not turning back. Mechanically, she unwrapped the paper from the food. Her eyes widened as she saw what was in it. "How...how did you know I wanted cucumber sandwiches?"

"It's Wednesday."

Her lips lifted in a small smile. "Thanks... James."

* * *

><p><em>When you know that before a Quidditch match, he's not playing with his food – he's strategizing.<em>

Two pieces of bacon, with ketchup – the Gryffindor Beaters. Bacon with spinach – Slytherin. Potatoes with similar garnishing – Chasers. Eggs, ditto – Keepers. A toffee – him.

_All in position, now – three, two, one..._

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The food began floating around an inch over his plate. _Slytherin Chaser moves, ducks, Damien moves in, Lucy over his shoulder with the Sloth Grip Roll, a Bludger from Sirius, aaand "_Possession of the Quaffle!"

He looked up. Several astonished faces looked back at him.

"You'd better have paid attention!" Lily's voice came from beside him. "It's the form you're going to practice at today's Quidditch practice!"

* * *

><p><em>When you accommodate her sleeping habits, even if it gives you a crick in the neck.<em>

"I _can't_ go to sleep on my back, James!" she said, almost in tears. "Not unless I take a Sleeping Draught, and I'm not allowed to!"

"Well..." He looked at his wife, who was somewhere in her eighth month of pregnancy, and gave a small sigh. "Come here." James pulled her into his arms.

A few hours later, he woke up with a sleeping Lily using his chest as a pillow, her arms wrapped around him, and the rest of her stretched out on the sofa beside him. _And_ a crick in the neck.

_Better get used to this, Potter._

* * *

><p><em>When you can tell when he's going to mess up his hair...<em>

"...Dumbledore won't let us..." Lily trailed off, looking up at the Head Boy. "Are you even listening?"

She looked in the direction in which he was staring and rolled her eyes. _Of course, why would he bother when blondie-what's-her-face is sitting right before him? Any moment now he's going to start messing up his hair._

Her right hand sneaked towards his messy black mop, just as his own hand rose up. Their fingers met, and James jumped as her soft fingers trailed over his scalp. "Do I have your attention now?"

"OW, Lily! You didn't have to pull so hard!"

_... and do it for him._

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, that came out cheesier than I expected... And 100-word drabbles are <strong>_**really**_** hard to write... especially for a long-winded writer like me.**

**Thanks to Little Emily, Souhait, berkeley929, Married-To-Punk, kitty-whiskers, Almost Genius, BlueSkies 13, Loslote, WobblyJelly, lunerflower and cole246 for reviewing!**


	18. Red

_R – red_

Red. It was all he could see. His vision was clouding over, filming everything in a red haze.

His right hand lay limp before his eyes. He could see the deep crescent-shaped wounds in his palm, wounds that oozed drops of blood – wounds that he himself had made, his fingernails digging into the soft skin as his body writhed in agony.

Every fibre of his being cried out in pain, so much that he could barely separate one from the other. "_Crucio... Crucio... CRUCIO!" _The words were soft at first, rising in intensity and volume until his ears were ringing with them and his own animalistic screams.

A reprieve. "_Tell us and we'll let you live..." Tell you... what? _His mind was blank. _I don't know... I can't remember..._

The blood dripped into his eye from the gash on his forehead, blinding him momentarily. He blinked it away, almost involuntarily. It was the only movement he was capable of.

A moment of clarity, and then he felt the slight sting of the liquid entering his eyes again. This time, his eyelids shut of their own accord, his will too weak to keep them open. He felt a rough grip on his hair, and his head was jerked upwards.

His right eye opened by a slit, enough to make out the features of the thickset man who gripped him. "...can't kill 'im or Crucio 'im. Gotta keep 'im sane," he heard, or rather, saw the lips of the man form those words.

_Can't Crucio... _His mind told him that he was safe, it was going to be fine, but something – some instinct whispered that _this was not the end_. And it was right.

He heard a mocking laugh and a voice, "Well, we'll just have to do it the Muggle way, eh?"

His body stiffened in anticipation. Ironically, his senses now seemed sharper than they were a moment ago. He could feel the coolness of the floor underneath him, made slick with blood _– his own? Someone else's? _He could smell it – that sickly-sweet, metallic smell – he could taste the salty liquid as it trickled into his mouth. And he could see the red.

He was hauled upright, held up by two men.

The first blow crushed his spectacles, the shards of glass cutting into the skin of his face. The second broke his nose. The third was a kick aimed at his ribs. The fourth...

He felt strangely detached from his body. _That one definitely broke a couple of ribs, _he thought clinically, as blood began to bubble up out of his mouth after an intense pain in his side. _Might have punctured the lung. _His breaths came in pants.

Red. It was all he could see.

His eyes closed shut from the force of the punches aimed at it. Suddenly, another flash of red passed through his mind – a red he knew well; long, silken red hair he had dragged his fingers through so many times, and knew as well as his own. _Lily..._

The thought of her was all that kept him sane. And so it continued, on and on until he seemed to lose all track of time; seconds felt like minutes and minutes like hours.

Abruptly, his arms were let go of. Helplessly, his body fell forward without the support that was holding it up so far. He winced, as the hard ground met his many wounds.

There were shouts. Loud shouts of both men and women. _What are they saying?... _He couldn't quite make out the words, although they seemed to be spells. Something exploded behind him. He smelt smoke. All the sounds seemed to be fading...

A shadow fell over him. He felt himself being lifted, gently, softly. There was... a voice. His left eye opened slightly. The whole world seemed to be spinning around, and he shut it again, but not before he caught a glimpse of red. Silken strands of red which fell over his face.

That was the red he wanted to see.

His eyes rolled back, and he finally gave himself up to the darkness of oblivion.

* * *

><p><strong>I am sooo evil, aren't I? *smirk* Just when you thought things were getting happy and fluffy, voila! Here comes the bloodiest chapter of the series.<strong>

**Thanks to Souhait, Meghla, lunerflower, nine-orcids, Married-To-Punk, Little Emily, Almost Genius, kitty-whiskers, bamanda808, Science and Food, BlueSkies 13, Loslote, Anonymous, Kikii, loving-arizona and BookWorm77071 for your reviews!**

**Review, even if you want to kill me for what I did to James!**


	19. Scent

**So... I'm back from the dead. After... um, so long. *cringes* I entirely lost my muse for this story after my computer broke down, so updates may not be really regular, but rest assured, I **_**will**_** complete this.**

**Thanks to Mehghla, BlueSkies 13, lunerflower, Little Emily, berkeley929, Science and Food, Almost Genius, Loslote, alicenotinwonderalnd, BookWorm77071, mercurywrites, Anonymous, Lenners, I'm-amazing-deal-with-it, ATrueGryffindor, iwishiwasdhampir and xLycheeRAiN for reviewing! Oh, and special thanks to Anonymous for bugging and emotionally blackmailing me until I finally sat down and wrote this. :P Love you too, hon.**

**Be warned, this may be a little rusty.**

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><p><em>S – scent<em>

"And now we see quite a fascinating potion – of special interest to the ladies present; come closer, that's it – can anyone tell me what this is?" Professor Slughorn gestured towards the cauldron that was emitting spiralling fumes, its surface shimmering softly.

"It's Amortentia, sir." Lily offered. She took a few steps forwards towards the cauldron. "The most powerful love potion in the world. Of course, it doesn't create love, per se; it's more like a very powerful obsession. Infatuation. Amortentia is supposed to smell like the things that attract a person the most."

She was only a few inches away now. A tendril of smoke reached her nostrils and she breathed in deeply. For a split second, her eyes went blank.

"For example," she continued, a little slower. "I smell strawberries... the smell of old books..." Her expression was puzzled, as if she couldn't quite understand what her brain was telling her. "Worn leather...?" her voice trailed off in a whisper, a question addressed to herself.

"Thank you, Miss Evans! Ten points to Gryffindor for a very well-articulated answer. Now class, gather around the cauldron please. I want you all to take a good whiff of this and reflect on whether this was what you expected or not. Purely non-academic, of course. Remember, I'm keeping an eye on you – no lifting of the potion!"

_Why... worn leather? _Lily stood towards the back as the rest of the class surged forward. A frown creased her forehead.

A touch on her shoulder. She started, turning back in one swift movement. "Alright Evans?" Concerned hazel eyes looked into hers. James Potter.

"Yeah..."she murmured, turning away. He opened his mouth, unconvinced, and then shut it again. "Okay." He removed his hand from her shoulder, but not before she caught the smell of the fingerless Quidditch gloves that he always wore.

_Worn leather._

She spun around, watching his lean figure disappear into the crowd with widened eyes.

_The thing that attracts us the most..._

0o0o0

James made his way to the front of the class, where Sirius was waving him over. "Apparently I'm most attracted to cheap perfume," he said, wrinkling his nose. Peter and Remus snickered. "Even a potion knows you're a complete manwhore, Padfoot!"

"I am not! I just happen to have a healthy appreciation for..." His friends' banter slipped past him as took the last step towards the cauldron. And breathed.

His mother's chocolate biscuits – the smell of the earth after the rains – broom polish – and finally, a fruity smell that he had smelled only once in his life... and recognized right away. _Tangerines._

_Running his hands through red silken strands, all the while breathing in their smell – so distinct, so _her. _It was a moment that seemed stolen from the perfect fairytale – _his_ perfect fairytale. Until she broke free and ran away... and the moment shattered._

He turned his head around, eyes searching the classroom until they met her green. And within their depths, he saw the same whirlwind of emotions that he himself felt – the same fear, the uncertainty, the slight edge of lust... and the realization that _what attracts me the most is... you._

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><p><strong>This is one of the scrapped versions of this chapter that I liked. My peace offering?<strong>

"Lily, look at this!"

"Hmmm?" She said distractedly, her mind still on the Transfiguration homework in front of her. She turned around to see Alice waving a copy of Witch Weekly at her from her bed.

"This article says that we associate certain scents with certain people or places... even memories. And it's true, now that I think about it! The smell of hot chocolate always reminds me of Frank... the times when we sneaked down to the kitchens in the middle of the night and..." Her face turned slightly red. "Anyway," she hurried on, "What about you? What smell comes to your mind when you think of James?"

"Dungbombs." She didn't even have to think about that one.

"You think about _Dungbombs_ when you think of your boyfriend?" Alice said disbelievingly. "Lily Evans, _what on earth _is **wrong **with you?"

She bit down on her lip, trying to stifle a laugh at Alice's aghast expression. "Sorry it's nothing romantic like yours. The very first time we met, on the Hogwarts Express, he set off a Dungbomb in Sev's face. And when I became a Prefect, it seemed as if every time I caught him at one of his pranks, he had a Dungbomb somewhere on his person. It's what I expect whenever I see him, you know?"

She turned back to her work.

She only forgot to mention the many, _many_ times a Dungbomb had come to their rescue when Filch caught them snogging in a closet after curfew.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	20. Traitor

_T – traitor_

She knew it would come to this, one day. One day, he would stand there in front of them, the portly figure she remembered from the past, so familiar... yet unfamiliar in the torment and the silent plea for forgiveness in his watery blue eyes.

Whenever she had imagined this moment, she had always felt her infamous anger flare into a burning fury. But she had never seen herself feel this... _pity_ for the broken man.

"Well, well... look who just walked in," Sirius drawled from her right. His normally warm grey eyes were as hard as stone, his lips curled into an unpleasant sneer. "Who had the honour of killing you, _Wormtail_?" He drew the last word out, his aristocratic features revealing his extreme distaste.

"I... I..." His gaze fell on the silver hand that had followed him even into the afterlife, and his tongue flicked out nervously, wetting his cracked and dried lips. "The Dark Lord..."

Sirius let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark than anything else. "Voldemort himself, huh? Funny, who would've thought he'd waste his time killing _you_? Don't you think so, Prongs?"

He turned towards the man standing beside him, his face carefully wiped of emotions, hazel eyes betraying none of the turmoil inside him. He did not respond to Sirius, but continued looking at Peter, eyes penetrating deep into his very soul. Peter tried to hold his gaze but very soon, he dropped his eyes with a whimper.

That tiny action seemed to break a dam in James. With two fluid strides, he had reached the shorter man, his fist swinging out and connecting with his face with a distinct crunch, completely knocking him off his feet. "Why, Peter?" he asked, his voice choked. "Dammit, answer me!" he shouted at the cowering man at his feet.

His wand had appeared in his hand. A roiling mass of emotions rolled off him – from fury, to betrayal... to an intense feeling of sadness. "Weren't we good enough friends for you, Peter?" he shouted. "Why did you have to bring Lily and Harry into it too? What did _they_ ever do to you? _**Answer**_ me!"

A force flung Peter through the air, a wall breaking his fall. He lay still where he fell, drops of blood trickling from the broken skin on one side of his head. He raised his eyes once to look at Lily, an unnamed plea in them... but he still couldn't meet James' eyes.

He was thrown into the air again, invisible forces pounding into him, splattering his blood across the pavement. He didn't make a single movement in his defence. And neither did any of the onlookers.

She shut her eyes, a small tear trickling down the curve of her face. She could still hear James' ranting, and though she hadn't shared that sort of closeness with the man, the raw undertone in her husband's voice hurt her just as badly. "Didn't you know that we'd have given _anything_ for you? Wasn't that enough?" And then something that made her eyes snap open in alarm – "I couldn't do this earlier, but by the gods, Wormtail, I'll make you pay!"

For one moment, her eyes met his and she could see into him... and she knew that this wasn't the James she loved. He was hidden from her under pure, murderous hate and the blind fury emanating from him. "_Cruc-"_

"_Stupefy!" _She watched the red light emanating from her wand tip with a detached sort of fascination; saw it reach him before the spell left his mouth and saw him crumple to the ground.

She remained rooted to her spot as Sirius rushed from her side.

The wind blew towards her, blowing her hair back from her face, carrying the last trace of a whisper. "_Traitor_..."

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><p><strong>I'm back! It's been a while... wonder if there's anyone left reading this... Anyway, thanks to xLycheeRAin, lunerflower, Souhait, wildblessedfreedom, BlueSkies13, BookWorm77071, Anonymous, Little Emily, Loslote, alicenotinwonderland, Almost Genius, WobblyJelly, Lenners, berkeley929, pottermommy1118, Eleos and DanceDiva for reviewing the last chapter!<strong>

**So has anyone got into Pottermore yet? Which house have you been sorted into, or you think you're going to be sorted into?**


	21. Unnamed

_U – unnamed_

"Ugghh..." Lily made an incoherent groan and leaned over again, emptying her stomach, her hands white from gripping the edges of the toilet. James trailed his left hand down her back soothingly in circles, as his right hand held back her thick auburn hair. "It's okay... just get it out..."

The doorbell rung.

"Get the door, don't forget your wand," she said in a single breath before leaning forward again. "Are you sure you don't need...?" James began hesitantly. "Just GO!"

Taking one last look at her crouched form, he hurried down the steps and pulled the door open, to come face-to-face with his three best friends. "Oh, hey –" He found himself talking to thin air. "Why do I even bother?" he muttered to himself as he swung around.

Sirius and Peter had already made their way to the kitchen, shouting out that they were dying of hunger and Remus was interestedly examining the Muggle telephone that Lily had installed in the house last week.

"Umm... make yourselves comfortable, I'll be back." He made a beeline for the bathroom.

Sirius shot Remus a bemused look, the black haired man catching James' words as he walked out of the kitchen, his hands filled with food. "Whoa, what's up with Prongs? Since when do we need to be told to make ourselves comfortable?" He nodded at Peter who was pilfering the refrigerator's contents.

Remus shrugged. "Ah, well..." Sirius threw himself onto the couch, biting into a 'Lily-special' bun. "Heaven..."

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><p>"So... we're going to tell them right now?" James looked as excited as she felt.<p>

"Yeah." She pushed open the door to the living room. Where she found the rest of the Marauders lying sprawled around in various states of rest, in what looked like the aftermath of a food fight.

She closed her eyes in irritation. "Sirius..." she growled.

He shot her a sheepish grin. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Clean. Now."

He Vanished the food with a lazy flick of his wand. "Lily _darling_..." he drawled, "I have to say – you do make the best buns I've ever tasted. In fact, you've got a bun in the oven right now, haven't you?"

Lily's mouth formed an 'O' in surprise. "How do _you_ know? We haven't told anyone yet!"

"Umm... I can see it?"

"That's impossible! I'm not showing yet!"

"Of cour – wait, what are you talking about?"

"I'm PREGNANT!"

"Oh."

A second passed before it actually sunk in. "Oh... Merlin. We're going to have a mini-Prongs and Lily!" He jumped up, lifting Lily into the air and swung her around until she screamed at him to put her down. "I'm going to be an uncle!"

"Congratulations, Lily." Remus and Peter approached the slightly out-of-breath woman, while Sirius moved on to high-fiving James. "Good going, mate!"

"Thanks!"

"We have to think of names!" Sirius shouted, as the idea struck him.

"Umm... yeah, we were thinking of –"

"Sirius, right? I claim right of naming your first-born!"

"No, actually –"

"What about... Prongslet!" He flashed a huge grin. "I like this name! Prongslet you shall be!" he said, addressing Lily's stomach. "All in favour, raise your hand!"

No one did. Sirius glared at Peter until he unwillingly raised his hand. "Okay... majority says yes, I win!"

"How on earth did you reach that?" Remus raised his eyebrows.

"See, Lily's hormones make her irrational, so she's out of the count," he said ignoring Lily's outraged look, "James has been infected by the 'Daddy' bug, so he doesn't count either. I win!"

"And what if it's a girl?"

"Lily-bud!" James and Sirius said at the same time.

"Or we could name her Daisy or Rose or... Sirius, give me flower names!"

"Sunflower – we could call her Sunny! Or Polly!"

James frowned. "I don't think Polly's a flower... what do you think, Lils?"

"I think that... he or she's _**going to remain unnamed.**_"

"But –"

"Are you puking your guts out every morning, Black? Are you the one who's going to be so huge in a few months that you won't even be able to see your feet? Are you the one peeing all night long? No, so yeah, I get to choose!"

She flounced away, leaving four men completely unable to look each other in the eye.

"Hormones...?"

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><p><strong>Thanks to Little Emily, Almost Genius, xLycheeRAin, pottermommy1118, 2, Fyrebolt, BookWorm77071, Melodiux, Will Write For Food, P.A. Faraway and MagicLastsForever for reviewing the last chapter!<strong>


	22. Vintage

_V – vintage_

"But that's _hideous_!"

The cry echoed throughout the Potter home as the two black-haired boys backed away from Mrs. Potter, identical looks of horror on their faces.

"Mother," James tried in what he thought was a reasonable tone, "You can't honestly expect us to wear these... these..." He struggled to come up with a word to describe the dress robes in his mother's hands.

"These... _atrocities_!" finished Sirius.

"I think they're perfectly fine." Her eyes turned towards the robes. "Everyone is going to be wearing something like this, boys – this is a _formal_ ball. You're expected to wear formal dress robes. Besides, your father's going to be wearing them too," she said to James, her brown eyes glittering with mischief.

"Erm... that's kind of the point, Mrs. Potter," Sirius said tactfully. "They're a little... old-fashioned."

"Nonsense! I picked them out to suit you. You'll both look very distinguished in black, and the blue inside robes will complement your eyes perfectly, Sirius! Now here," she said, pushing the robes at them. "I expect you to be ready on time, neat and tidy and wearing these. With _no_ alterations. _Do you understand me, James Charlus Potter?"_

James' eyes snapped back guiltily. He had been eyeing the lace on the collars distastefully and a Banishing Charm was just on the tip of his tongue. "Um, yes, Mum."

"Good." She began walking away.

"Bugger."

* * *

><p>"James! Sirius!"<p>

The pair in question hurried towards the flame-haired woman. "Yeah, Mum?" James asked, as he reached her side.

"The guests should be arriving soon. I want you both to be here with me to welcome them in, at least until your father gets back, understand?"

He frowned. "Where's Father?"

She gave him a small smile. "Oh, he'll be here soon enough."

With the distinctive pop of Apparition, the first guest arrived. And from then on, it seemed as if a dam had been unleashed as Britain's finest poured in – the most influential pureblood families were a given, but the up-and-coming half-blood and muggleborn artists, politicians, researchers... none had been neglected. This was part of what made his mother's parties almost scandalous, but no one could afford to turn down an invitation simply on those grounds.

It was getting almost mechanical now. An elegant bow, a kiss dropped on a limp hand, a few words, a smile. He could sense Sirius fidgeting beside him, but they had been brought up doing this and they both knew better than to say anything. He heard his mother's animated speech and turned to see his father walking in. And on his arm was a _very_ familiar figure indeed.

Swathed in a daring red gown, her flaming hair twisted elegantly into a bun, she drew everyone's sight whether they wanted to or not. She was breathtaking. And she was...

"_Lily_? What are you doing here?"

Her cheeks slightly tinged with red, she looked defiantly at him and said, "I was invited by Mrs –"

"James, don't stand there! Lily is my guest today!" His mother's slight frame appeared between them.

"But when –?"

"We met in Hogsmeade and got along famously, didn't we dear?" She smiled at Lily. "James will take you in now, all right?"

"Um –"

"That's brilliant! Go on now! I'll send Remus and Peter in when they arrive."

He found himself being shooed away from the entrance along with Lily and Sirius. There was a long awkward moment when all three of them stood staring at their shoes, which Sirius broke by announcing that he needed to go find some bird to chat up, and left.

James' tie seemed almost uncomfortably tight now, and he squirmed inwardly at being seen in such ridiculous robes by her. "You look... good," he finally offered.

_Good doesn't even begin to cut it!_

"Thanks. You too."

None of them quite knew what to say to each other. They weren't friends of course – _Merlin forbid – _but she didn't hate him with the burning passion she'd had until last year, and he... he liked her. As a friend. Nothing more. _That ship's sailed a while ago, _he thought slightly bitterly.

"Well, I suppose I'd better show you around my humble abode?"

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><p>They didn't know how they ended up dancing. During their tour of the mansion, they fell into an easy camaraderie, both vying to outdo the other in wit. It was almost as if being away from Hogwarts, from their friends, wearing something other than the uniform made them see each other differently. So when the music began, and James held out his hand, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to accept.<p>

She didn't think it was particularly clever of her now, though. Not when they were so close that their bodies were practically melding into one. Not when she was staring into the golden flecks in his hazel eyes. Not when all she seemed to be able to concentrate on was the shape of his lips, which seemed to be coming closer... and closer...

"Nice dress robes!" she blurted out, abruptly moving away from him.

James looked down, an expression of mock disgust crossing his face as his eyes fell on the lace. "Really, Lily? _These_?"

She giggled, ignoring the slight tinge of hysteria in the sound. "Well..." She stepped back and scrutinized him. "I suppose you could say that these are... uh... very _vintage_."

They were back to normal now. Or as normal as things could be between them.

But she couldn't help but think about what could have happened, only if...

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><p><strong>I don't think these qualify as drabbles anymore... but I'm sure you're not complaining about the length! Thanks to lunerflower, Loslote, Souhait, Almost Genius, xLycheeRAiN, Little Emily, ILoveHarryPotterForever, shadowCatuse, xXB-A-C-O-N Spells LOVEXx, pottermommy1118, berkeley929, Anonymous, Jean Swift, BookWorm77071 and LilyHeartsJames for reviewing the last chapter!<strong>

**Anonymous: Lily**** stupefied James, because she didn't want him to use an Unforgivable - even on Peter. When I wrote this, I had this vague sort of idea of James saying "Traitor..." to Peter right before Lily stupefies him, but later I realized that it could be taken as him saying it to Lily, after a reviewer pointed that out. So, take it any way you want! I hope it makes sense...**


	23. Wedding

_W – wedding_

"What a ring!" Sirius exclaimed, holding it up to the light. "I mean, did you just pick the biggest diamond you could find or something? This has _got_ to be a few thousand Galleons. Hmm, let's see... I shall call you Diamonda," he said, looking fondly at the ring. He walked over to the groom, who was groaning at the mirror and futilely attempting to flatten down his hair.

"James! Marry me! You won't let me be parted from Diamonda, will you?"

James stared back at him, his eyes slightly glazed over. "Huh...?"

"No? Ah, farewell Diamonda, my love, my soul! May you live a long happy life with another woman..."

James had already tuned him out when he heard the words 'long happy life'. And suddenly the implications of this whole event hit him.

His hazel eyes went round behind his glasses. He grasped Sirius' hand with a vice-like grip as he gave a strangulated gasp, "I'm getting _married_, Padfoot! _Forever_!" He started pacing around. "Merlin, what if I'm a terrible husband? I will be, won't I?" He ran his hands through his hair feverishly. "What were we _thinking_?"

He looked quite green in the face. "He's going to throw up! Get him a paper bag, Sirius!" Remus shouted.

Sirius started. "Right... uh, paper bag..."

"Just transform something!"

"Right, here you go!"

James grabbed the bag gratefully, immediately sticking his head into it and dry heaving. Suddenly he heard Sirius shout, "Wait! That's Diamonda!" and felt the bag being torn away from him.

_What?_

"WHAT?"

"That was all I had in my hands!" Sirius said defensively. "So, um... I'm sure we can... um, transform it back... maybe..." He trailed away.

At this point, James let loose an impressive string of curses and hexes at the unfortunate Sirius. Needless to say, the ring was recovered after Remus stepped in, and they were able to proceed to the actual ceremony without any further damage.

Maybe with another meltdown or two on the way.

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><p>"You know Moony," Sirius whispered as they stood next to James, waiting for the bride to arrive, "If Lily doesn't arrive in the next seventeen seconds, Prongs here is going to piss his pants. Or barf all over his tux."<p>

"Why seventeen?"

"We measured our bladder capacity back in fourth year."

Thankfully, Lily chose to arrive right then, saving James from the mortification of wetting his pants on his wedding day. Instead, seeing her made his mouth hang open for quite a few seconds giving him a patented 'dimwit' look, complete with drool, after which he pulled himself together and contented himself with an adoring gaze instead.

"Aww... it's _nauseatingly_ sweet, isn't it?"

Their vows being said, and rings and 'I do's being exchanged, James didn't wait a second before pulling Lily to him and claiming her lips for a long, drawn out kiss which left them both gasping and looking slightly dazed at the end, as well as the envy of professional swimmers.

"Scratch that, I don't believe I've ever seen anything more disgusting."

* * *

><p>Sirius stood up at his position on James' right hand side. "Alright everyone! It's time for the most important part of any wedding..." He paused dramatically. "When the most awesome person in the magical world, a.k.a. the best man, a.k.a. <em>Sirius Black<em> gives a speech!"

James shook his head in mock despair. "Mate, what was I thinking? You wouldn't happen to make this short and non-embarrassing, would you?" Seeing Sirius' mischievous grin, he groaned. "Thought not."

"So, we begin this tale with a hair and vision-challenged – okay, pretty much everything-challenged – eleven year old, James; a beautiful-and-wise-beyond-her-years eleven year old, Lily; and another just awesome, handsome ,intelligent lady-killer eleven year old... me. Now as it happened, James fell in love with Lily the very first time he saw her – which, by the way, was when she was swimming away from the Giant Squid which we had fed pumpkin pasties to – and decided that it would be clever to ask her out. While in the middle of the Lake. I know, I know, so unlike me... Lily, are you quite sure? You know, you could leave him. My arms are always open for you... no?"

"You can imagine that that didn't have a very happy ending – all the poor fellow got for his troubles was a huge red bruise on his cheek. And that started his borderline stalkerish obsession with poor Lily – who deserves someone epic like me, for your information. He stole her underwear sometime along the way – third year? – and that was when she really started hating him. (Oh, and Lily, he still sleeps with it when you're not around – it's like his teddy bear or something – might want to watch out for a fraying black thong among his underwear, love. It's not cross-dressing, I promise.) And Hogwarts was never the same again, with all the hexes and screams being thrown around. No offense, but you girls are _loud_."

"Anyway, to wrap it up – I see the happy couple both glaring at me now, better move before they start throwing hexes – Lily, have you got you wand hidden in your underwear or something? Just asking, no need to throw the champagne, James! Anyway, after a lot of teenage angsting and brooding and staring into the fireplace, the idiot managed to get the girl. Obviously, he would have gotten nowhere without super-awesome me... But still, they're together, and _siriusly_... I've never seen two people more perfect together than them. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a bird for myself and exert my masculinity – it's taken a _serious_ blow – pun intended – with all this sweet-talking... Ah, I see a volunteer!"

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><p>James easily picked her up, flowing gown, veil and all. "What, no yells to put you down immediately?" he teased, as he walked towards the carriage.<p>

"James..." she brought her mouth near his ear, for all the world looking like she was whispering seductively. "Heels _hurt_."

"Ah."

They got into the carriage and drove off into the sunset, James looking dashing as he tried to look like he knew how the hell the horses worked and Lily looking stunningly beautiful as she threw sugar-coated swear words at him, towards their happily ever after.

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><p><strong>I think Sirius just invaded my mind when I was writing this. I did <strong>_**not**_** mean for the commentary to be so snarky... Anyway, did this chapter live up to the whole 'OMG, wedding!' expectations?**

**Thanks to Almost Genius, Little Emily, xLycheeRAiN, Loslote, marauderluv94, roflshvuakomail, LilyHeartsJames, Eleos, I'm-amazing-deal-with-it, AcrossTheWater, Lenners, lunerflower, S.E. Brodie, pottermommy1118 and Anonymous for your reviews!**


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